Johnson, who plays at Reliant Stadium on Monday night, leads the NFL with 1,091 yards rushing and a 6.4-yard average per carry. He has nine touchdowns.

Slaton has 359 yards rushing (34th in the NFL), 326 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He also leads the league with five lost fumbles.

“The next seven weeks are important to Steve,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “Obviously, year two has been a lot tougher than year one for him, but one thing about Steve that’s been constant is his work habits haven’t changed. The way he goes about his business hasn’t changed.

“He’s giving us everything he has. He just needs to clean up hanging on to the ball. For us to play well in the next seven weeks, Steve will have to be a big part of it. I’m counting on him. I know his teammates are, too.”

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Lasting impression

The Texans’ defensive players wish it were Johnson and not Slaton in a sophomore slump. It’s hard to imagine Johnson playing better Monday night than he did in the Texans’ 34-31 victory in Nashville in September.

Johnson had touchdown runs of 91 and 57 yards. He ran for 197 yards. He had a 69-yard touchdown catch.

“The guy has it all,” Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson said. “He’s breaking tackles. He’s outrunning people. He’s just a great running back. If you want any chance to beat this team, you’ve got to contain him.

“He’s taking 2- and 3-yard gains and taking them 80 and 90 yards. And he’s a tough guy, too.”

Since the Texans let Johnson embarrass them in the second game, they’ve improved immensely against the run, allowing an average of 60.5 yards over the last six games.

“We have to hit him, and we have to be physical,” middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s no different playing him or any running back.”

Knowing what to do against Johnson and actually doing it are two different things. If he maintains his present clip, Johnson would be the first running back to average 6.4 yards per carry in a 1,000-yard rushing season since Jim Brown in 1963.

“That’s the thing,” defensive end Mario Williams said. “You contain him the first two or three plays, and then all of a sudden, he busts out the big one. We have to minimize the big plays.”

Frustration with fumbles

For Slaton, big plays have been few and far between. He’s kept a good attitude despite the seven fumbles and five lost. He didn’t have a fumble problem last season.

“It’s been very frustrating,” Slaton said. “Any time you put the ball on the ground, it’s very frustrating, and doing it on a consistent basis is bothering. But hopefully I can change that around in this last half of the season.”

Slaton has tried everything, including watching a tape of former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, who overcame a fumble problem.

“I think you just have to put it out of your mind, not to think about it too much, but it still has to be there just to know you’ve got to squeeze it,” he said.

During the open date, Slaton used his five-day vacation to relax. He called his former high school and college coaches to talk to them about getting back to the basics.

“It was really just to clear my mind, just talk to them,” he said. “It’s so much more of a business at this level to where we were in college and high school, so I went back to just start over again.”

Positive outlook

Slaton hopes to play a key role in the last seven games.

“I think everybody’s role is important,” he said. “Any opportunity I get to touch the ball, it’s important to make positive plays. My mindset is to go out there, have fun and protect the ball.”